Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation's behaviour at Rigoni's restaurant

How sincere is your apology considering you stated you would behave that way again?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:39): Question No. 3: I seek leave to make a brief explanationbefore asking the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation questions regarding hisbehaviour at Rigoni's.Leave granted.The Hon. P. Malinauskas interjecting:The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Was that a groan? I'm sorry.Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order!The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: It's such an unimportant matter, isn't it? The Minister forPolice—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! Will the honourable Leader of the Government please desist, andwill the honourable whip of the opposition please desist. The Hon. Ms Lensink has the floor.The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Thank you, and may it be noted for the record, for theinformation of White Ribbon, that the Minister for Police just guffawed at my opening remarks. I willcontinue. One prominent journalist has described the minister's behaviour, and I quote:I mean he's not even at the table because he flipped the table and walked out and then you have otherexamples with Business SA and the Law Society…just not engaging on getting solutions. That is not in any waystanding up for South Australia, it is standing up for your ego and emotion, but not in any way it's going to get outcomes.

My questions for the minister are:1. Will he concede that he has breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct?

2. Does he maintain that he would still behave the same way if he had his time again?

3. How sincere is your apology considering you stated you would behave that wayagain?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation,Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:41): I thank thehonourable member for her most important questions and the opportunity to address some of thesubstantive issues that arose and gave rise to my inappropriate language, because that's the thingthe Liberals are running away from at a million miles an hour. They are not interested in the issuesthat are important to this state in terms of the River Murray—not interested in those issues.Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister has the floor.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Liberals wouldn't recognise a spine if they fell over one. Theseguys over here have not stepped up any activity whatsoever against the federal government and theNationals' Barnaby Joyce's desire to strip South Australia of the aspects of the Murray-Darling BasinPlan which were integral to our accepting to sign up to that plan.South Australians, on the other hand, know how important the River Murray is. It's not justfor our economic future, it's also a tourism drawcard and holiday favourite for South Australianfamilies and interstate families. We understand as South Australians how precious water is, andthat's why we rallied together in 2012 to fight for the River Murray. We were so successful that wesecured the 3,200 gigalitre commitment for our state.You can imagine then my disappointment when I received the Deputy Prime MinisterBarnaby Joyce's letter before the dinner scheduled on the evening ahead of the Ministerial Councilof water ministers. Mr Joyce's letter indicated that he was not committed to the plan in full. Mr Joyce'sletter was a fundamental breach of faith on a basin plan that South Australia has signed up to thatensured the health and sustainability of the River Murray. Mr President—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! This is not a general discussion. The honourable minister willanswer the question.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —so that members of the chamber not familiar with this issue mightunderstand my wrath, I seek leave to table the letter that the Hon. Barnaby Joyce sent to me, dated17 November 2016.Leave granted.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: He was indeed the acting prime minister, I think, as of about 11pmof that day. As has been widely reported, I attended that pre-meeting dinner and indicated in thestrongest terms that this government would be holding the commonwealth government to accountand it must deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on time and in full. That was after trying to spendtwo hours with the Hon. Mr Joyce, patiently and diplomatically trying to make the point to him abouthow important the plan, in full, was to South Australia—a commitment that, I understand, has nowbeen secured thanks to South Australia's intervention on Barnaby Joyce's intention to tear up thatbasin plan.The South Australian government had raised its concern when Mr Barnaby Joyce wasappointed to the water portfolio. We held concerns that Mr Joyce would seek to represent his cottonand rice growing mates upstream, and those concerns were realised in his letter to me on17 November 2016. I have tabled that letter, so there can be no calls from those members oppositeon what Mr Joyce's intentions might or might not have been—it is as plain as the nose on their face.I welcome Mr Marshall's support for the basin plan, Mr Marshall, the Leader of theOpposition, the member for Dunstan, albeit some days after receiving Mr Joyce's letter indicatingthat he had no intention of delivering the plan—better late than never for Mr Marshall's support of thestate government's commitment to the River Murray. I was concerned, in the initial commentarycoming from the Liberal Party on this issue—

Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Minister for Police, please desist. The Hon. Mr Lucas,please desist—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: —and everyone else desist. Order! Leader of the Government, we aretrying to get some order during question time. If you persist, I will have no alternative but to nameyou. Understand?The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: So, I was somewhat concerned at the initial commentary comingfrom the Liberal Party on this issue. The state Liberals and the federal Liberals seem to be scramblingevery which way, unaware of Barnaby Joyce's intention to walk away from the basin plan. Theshadow minister, Tim Whetstone, didn't even seem to understand that there was a basin plan with acommitment to 3,200 gigalitres of water to the river. His interview on 18 November on ABC Riverland,called the 450 gigalitre commitment a 'side deal' and he went on further to suggest that the 450 issomething separate from the basin plan. That is the level of understanding that we have in the stateLiberals. Just to be clear—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order!The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Just to be clear, page 214 of the basin plan—and I might seekleave to table that, Mr President—clearly identifies at schedule 5, clause 1:(1) The outcomes listed below are ones that will be pursued under the Commonwealth’s program toincrease the volume of water resources available for environmental use by 450 GL per year.That is page 214 of the plan, the plan that the honourable Mr Tim Whetstone doesn't seem to haveread past the executive summary.The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Did you breach the code? You wouldn't have read the wholething yourself; we know you're too lazy.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Hopefully his colleague, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, has understoodthe plan a little bit better because she told 891 on the same day that the basin plan is 'an act of lawand there's 3,200 gigalitres.' So, at least the Hon. Michelle Lensink understands, if the honourableMr Tim Whetstone has no clue. Clearly, the Hon. Michelle Lensink has read past the executivesummary and knows a little bit more than her mate.Then, we have Mr Tony Pasin, member for Barker, who was reported in The Sydney MorningHerald as suggesting that Mr Joyce had mishandled the issue and needed to do better by SouthAustralia. Do better indeed. That's what this South Australian government is deeply committed to:ensuring the commonwealth government does do better for South Australians. We will not waverfrom our commitment to the river and to the people who rely on it for their livelihoods, to ensure theystill get the water that they need to support their businesses and industries, but also to ensure theriver's health is not compromised and is sustained long into the future.I will continue to stand up for that outcome, I will continue to fight for the full delivery of thebasin plan, and that means 3,200 gigalitres in full—not bits and pieces of it; in full.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:48): Supplementary: did the minister or did he not breachthe code of conduct?The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation,Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:48): The Liberal'sconstant negativity and their lack of ideas—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —are bad enough for this state. They are so out of touch withSouth Australians, it is embarrassing. They are so out of touch with the people of this state, it isamazing. They are skirting around the issue that is most important to this state, which is about: willthe Liberal government stand up and deliver what they have promised to do as a federal government?Will they do it? Will they haul in Barnaby Joyce?Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Will they haul in Barnaby Joyce, who had his own little plan whenhe ascended to the acting prime minister status to think, 'Well, I'm going to give this a go. I'm comingto Adelaide, I'm the acting prime minister, I'm going to blow this plan up and see if the states cavein.' Then he would have gone back to his Liberal National Party cabinet and said, 'Well, everybody'scaved in. There's not an issue. Let's take that water out of the plan and then give it to rice farmersand cotton farmers in the north of the basin.' That's what he wanted to do. You can see his thinkingas plain as day.Unfortunately for Barnaby Joyce there was a South Australian at the table. There was aSouth Australian at the table who was prepared to say, 'We will not take it.' I have to contrast thatwith the spineless behaviour of the member for Dunstan, the Leader of the Opposition, who, licketysplit, ran off to Canberra for a photo opportunity with the Prime Minister. What did he come backwith?Members interjecting:The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: What did he come back with? Nothing at all, but a photo. He cameback with a JPEG. That's all he had, a JPEG for his social media and—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order!The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, I have to say it is offensive that the Liberal Party inthis state will never stand up to the federal Liberal government—they will never stand up to a federalLiberal government, even in the interests of South Australians. Just to give you a little bit ofbackground: on 22 September 2015, I sent a letter to the Hon. Barnaby Joyce, the federal Ministerfor Agriculture and Water Resources, outlining South Australia's ambition to work constructively withthe government to implement the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.I sent the letter because the Premier and I were worried when the Prime Minister appointedBarnaby Joyce as the federal minister for water. I was worried because Barnaby is someone whohas consistently ignored South Australia and the lower regions of the Murray. He seems to have theattitude that any water that goes past his front gate is wasted water. This is the same Barnaby Joycewho said that South Australian irrigators should just get up and move to where the water is. That washis plan. That was his solution: don't make the river work for everybody on the river, just move northwhere the water is, because they weren't going to let any water come over the border. I seek leaveto table his response, dated 20 October 2015.Leave granted.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: He, at the time, in 2015, recommitted to the water recovery volumesrequired under the basin plan. He states in that letter:The Australian Government is committed to achieving healthy rivers, strong communities and sustainablefood and fibre production in the Murray-Darling Basin by implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full and ontime.That was 2015—that was before the federal election, of course. Fast forward a year, and we seehow quickly things have changed in Barnaby Joyce's thinking. His 17 November 2016 letter to merevealed his true intentions: to walk away from those commitments and protect the interests of hiscotton and rice farmer mates.He states in his letter that the return of the 450 gigalitres, which is critical environmentalwater, is 'unsolvable'. That is his view: it's unsolvable. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan was agreed toby all four basin states and the federal government. It is clear that South Australia is not the onlystate that is concerned by lack of progress on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, thankfully. I have beenadvised that the Minister for Environment and Heritage in the ACT has written, sharing this view:I share your concern about the lack of progress on the integrated package of measures related to thesustainable diversion limit and the constraints measures since the April Ministerial Council meeting, and indeed theapparent lack of commitment from New South Wales and Victoria especially in pilot efficiency measures.This legislation that delivered the plan was voted for and passed by federal parliament in 2012,supported by both sides of politics. Four years later, we have a federal government, led by a waterminister, trashing that agreement. Instead of leadership, we have a federal water minister eyeing that$1.77 billion allocated to providing 450 gigalitres of critical environmental water, wanting to hand itout to his mates upstream.We expect this kind of treatment from the National Party. We even expect it from the federalLiberal Party, but I don't expect from the South Australian Liberal Party, but that's what we have got.For once, I thought the opposition would join with the government and the entire state and stand up,united, fighting for our fair share of water. I couldn't believe it when the member for Chaffey, Mr TimWhetstone, as I said, on 19 November told regional radio listeners in the Riverland that the450 gigalitres of water allocated to the Murray was 'something separate from the basin plan.'South Australians deserve better than that from the state Liberals. Being in government isabout delivering and defending policies that benefit our community. I make absolutely no apologythat I will stand up for the Murray River and for South Australia's interests, and ensure that the federalgovernment demonstrates that they will deliver this plan on time and in full. No longer will we acceptpromises of action: we want to see action.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:55): Did the minister or did he not breach the MinisterialCode of Conduct?The Hon. R.I. Lucas: He doesn't want to answer that question.The PRESIDENT: Do you want to answer that question?The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation,Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:55): I have,Mr President, but I think I can take another 20 minutes of the chamber's time to reinforce—Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! Allow the minister to answer the question.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I say again that I have certainly apologised to those people towhom I spoke in a very inappropriate way. Absolutely, I have, but standing up for South Australia iswhat is expected of us in this place. I would think that members opposite should be asking why theirfederal government has plans to tear up the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Why has Barnaby Joyceswaggered into Adelaide and tried it on by saying, 'That 450 gigs that South Australia required'—

Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister answer the question.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: —'to sign up to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, we're going to takethat away from you. We're going to go hell for leather on that bit of the plan that South Australiadoesn't like, the down water, which New South Wales and Victoria insisted be part of the plan forthem to sign up, but that component of the plan that South Australia insisted be in there'—so that wewould sign up to that compromise plan—'we're going to take that away from you.' That was BarnabyJoyce's line to us in Adelaide: 'The bits that you don't like, we're going for that, full steam ahead, butthose bits that took you, South Australia, over the line'—The PRESIDENT: Point of order, the Hon. Ms Lensink.The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Mr President, I draw honourable members' attention to standingorder 186 in regard to a member who persists in continued irrelevance, prolixity or tedious repetition.The PRESIDENT: Minister, can you quickly finish your answer.Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! I have asked you to finish answering the question.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Of course, I respect your ruling, Mr President, but I remind you thatwhen a minister might be a little bit prolix or repetitive, it is probably due to the question being askedof him time and time and time again, which I answer time and time and time again in a consistentmanner. The important thing here is: who is going to stand up for South Australia? Is it the LiberalParty of South Australia? No, not in a million years.Members interjecting:The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: That's right.Members interjecting:The PRESIDENT: Order! If you don't want to hear his answer, I will ask the minister to sitdown and I will go to the next question. The fact is, though, that the standing order as mentioned bythe Hon. Ms Lensink is during debate, not questions without notice.The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President, for your erudite ruling on that matter. Iwill bear that in mind as well for future points of order. The only thing the Liberal Party brought backwas a selfie. That is all they brought back from Canberra—a selfie, a JPEG, a meme for the Leaderof the Opposition's, the member for Dunstan's, Facebook page. That is all he had.It wasn't even Chamberlain's bit of paper with a signature on it. It wasn't even that. He didnot come back with a signed statement. He did not come back with a signed promise. He came backwith a selfie. We need more than that from the Liberal Party in South Australia: we need someleadership. The only leadership that is coming in parliament is from the Labor Party and JayWeatherill's government.